Saturn’s rings are one of the most mesmerizing sights in our solar system, yet they won’t last forever. Scientists have long known that its icy rings are slowly sinking into its upper atmosphere – this process is known as “ring rain”, and every second enough water evaporates from these particles to fill an Olympic-sized swimming…
Cassini performed 20 ring-grazing orbits that brought it within 1000 kilometers of Saturn’s outermost edge, offering incredible close encounters. On one of those orbits, a tiny storm ballooned into an enormous, billowing mass of cloud and gas. This Great White Storm verified long-held theories regarding water-ice geysers on Enceladus, a moon believed to contain a…
Saturn’s rings are one of the most breathtaking sights in our Solar System, yet over cosmic timescale they are rapidly dissolving away. NASA scientists have confirmed in a new research article published in Icarus journal that Saturn’s iconic rings are being pulled into its gravity as an ever-increasing cloud of dusty ice particles, according to…
Astronomers have known since the 1980s that Saturn’s iconic rings have been diminishing rapidly since they appeared over 400 million years ago. Scientists estimate that at their current rate of decline, one swimming pool worth of water could fall onto Saturn every 30 seconds – rendering its iconic rings nearly extinct within 300 million years!…
Saturn will come close to Earth only once every year during what is called opposition, with closeness between 14 August and 26 August being its closest point. Saturn boasts 52 natural satellites or moons; Titan is its most notable. Titan boasts a thick atmosphere similar to Earth. Saturn stands out in our solar system as…
Saturn’s rings are truly magnificent to behold and an immense source of wonder to astronomers, yet those magnificent icy structures won’t last forever. Micrometeorites from space and solar radiation interact with Saturn’s rings to disrupt them and make them electric, binding them together along invisible magnetic field lines that lead them straight towards Saturn’s atmosphere…
Saturn’s iconic rings are disintegrating rapidly. That is because their age was underestimated, causing tons of mass to evaporate every second. Astronomers estimate that Saturn’s rings will only remain visible for another 100 million years or so, according to stargazers’ research. To witness them one last time, stargazers should view Saturn when its rings are…
Over time, scientists have speculated that Saturn’s rings may not be very old – possibly not present throughout all 4.5 billion years of our solar system’s existence and rapidly decaying now. Every 15 years, Earth will pass through Saturn’s ring plane and this event will occur once more in 2025. The Rings Aren’t Made of…
Many aspects of Saturn’s rings captivate human imagination like few others can, yet astronomers are discovering that their lifespan may be shorter than previously anticipated. Research published earlier this month in Science Advances and Icarus journals suggests that Saturn’s rings are relatively young compared to their cosmic peers; likely having existed for no more than…
